Michigan Athlete Bios for 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Men's Basketball
Moritz Wagner (Germany)
Basketball
First Olympic Appearance • U-M letterwinner (2016-18)
Former All-Big Ten forward Moritz Wagner scored a game-high 28 points and earned MVP honors as Germany defeated Brazil, 75-64, in the championship game of the Croatia Olympic Qualifying Tournament, punching a ticket for the Tokyo Olympics. It is Germany's first trip to the Olympics since 2008. An NBA first-round draft pick, Wagner ended the season with the Orlando Magic and will be a free agent this summer. As a collegian he helped U-M to back-to-back Big Ten Tournament titles (2017, '18), earning MVP honors in 2018. That same year, he helped the Maize and Blue advance to the Final Four in San Antonio as well as the national title game against Villanova. Wagner is Michigan men’s basketball's first Olympian since Phil Hubbard in 1976.
Ekpe Udoh (Nigeria)
Basketball
First Olympic Appearance • U-M letterwinner (2007-08)
Ekpe Udoh played two seasons with the Wolverines and was a member of the Big Ten's All-Defensive team (20017-08) before transferring to Baylor following a U-M coaching change. He ranks fifth in school history with 159 blocked shots, including a U-M sophomore-record 92 when he led the conference (2.87 per game). After sitting out a season due to the transfer, Udoh was an Associated Press All-America honorable mention at Baylor and on the All-Big 12 second team, All-Defensive team and All-Newcomer team. He was an NBA first-round selection (6th pick) by the Golden State Warriors. Over the past 11 years Udoh has balanced a pro career with the NBA as well as Europe and China. He runs #EkpesBookClub (ekpesbookclub.com), an online reading community he started in 2013 with former Milwaukee Bucks teammate Dan Smyczek as a way to interact with fans more.
Men's Cycling
Mike Woods (Canada)
Cycling • Road Race
Second Olympic Appearance • U-M track and field letterwinner (2004-07)
Woods returns to the Olympic cycling stage for the second time in his career, now ranked among the best cyclists in the world. In the 2021 Tour de France, Woods was an intermediate leader in the "Climber" rankings before making the decision to withdraw on July 16 in preparation for the Olympics. At the 2019 edition of the Tour, he finished 32nd overall, becoming the first man in history with both a Tour de France finish and a sub-four-minute mile on his resume. In 2021 he won the Mountains classification at the Tour de Suisse and was fifth in the General classification in that competition and the Tour de Romandie. Woods, who has competed in cycling at an elite level for less than a decade, turned to the sport after a recurring stress fracture largely derailed his running career.
Men's Diving
Michael Hixon (USA)
Diving • Synchronized 3-meter springboard
Second Olympic Appearance • U-M Graduate Assistant (2020-present)
Coming off a silver-medal performance at the 2016 Rio Olympics in the 3-meter synchronized diving, Hixon aims for gold in the same event this year with partner Andrew Capobianco. Hixon won NCAA Diver of the Year as a freshman at Texas and went on to win the 1-meter dive as a senior at Indiana three years later. The Amherst, Mass., native joined the U-M swimming and diving staff prior to the 2020-21 season and is working with Wolverine diving coach Mike Hilde with Team USA in Tokyo.
Men's Gymnastics
Uche Eke (Nigeria)
Gymnastics • All-Around
First Olympic Appearance • U-M letterwinner (2016-18, '20)
Eke, the first Nigerian male gymnast in the country's history, qualified for his first Olympic Games at the African Gymnastics Championships, where he took bronze in the all-around and hit all six events. After serving as a graduate assistant coach for the Wolverines during the 2021 season, he received a master's degree from Michigan's School of Information in May with a 4.0 GPA.
Sam Mikulak (United States)
Gymnastics • All-Around
Third Olympic Appearance • U-M letterwinner (2011-14)
In his third Olympic games and considered the face of U.S. men's gymnastics, Mikulak is a six-time U.S. national all-around champion and is rounding into form after returning from health issues last year. After placing third in the all-around, securing a high bar title and placing sixth on parallel bars at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, he placed fourth in the all-around at the Olympic Trials and improved on individual events, winning floor exercise and placing second on high bar. He was a key member of Team USA over the past two Olympic cycles, as the Americans placed fifth in the team competition at the 2012 and 2016 Games. Individually, his best Olympic finish was fourth place on high bar in 2016.
Cameron Bock (United States)
Gymnastics • Replacement Athlete
First Olympic Appearance • U-M graduate student, letterwinner (2018-21)
Bock won his first national competition at the 2021 Winter Cup Challenge and secured a spot on the United States Senior National team in the process. An NCAA All-American on still rings and parallel bars, he also took home Big Ten Conference titles on still rings, parallel Bars and the all-around during a standout collegiate season. At Olympic Trials, he took 10th in the all-around (163.300) and placed fourth on high bar (27.300) and parallel bars (28.300).
Women's Rowing
Ellen Tomek (USA)
Rowing • Women's Quad Sculls (4x)
Third Olympic Appearance • U-M letterwinner (2003-06)
A native of Flushing, Mich., Tomek has represented the United States in international competition for more than 15 years since graduating from U-M in 2006 as a second-team All-American and two-time Big Ten champion (2003-04). She and track hurdler Tiffany (Ofili) Porter will make history in Tokyo as the first Michigan alumnae to compete in three Olympic Games. Tomek has won one silver medal and one bronze medal at the World Rowing Championships with USRowing, and she has competed in two Olympic finals in the double sculls (2x). The Tokyo Games will be her first appearance in the quad sculls (4x) event, and she will compete with her 2008 and 2016 Olympic teammate Meghan O'Leary (Virginia), Alie Rusher (Stanford) and Cicely Madden (Brown).
Grace Luczak (USA)
Rowing • Women's Four (4-)
Second Olympic Appearance • U-M letterwinner (2008)
Luczak is an Ann Arbor native who earned one varsity letter as a Wolverine in 2008 before finishing her collegiate career at Stanford. She has represented the United States internationally since 2010 and has won three gold medals. Luczak finished fourth in Rio in the pair (2-) with former Wolverine All-American and current U-M volunteer coach Felice Mueller (2009-12), and she has plenty of experience in the coxed four (4+) event as well with multiple gold medals at the World Rowing Championships. She will be joined by three first-time Olympians rowing in the four in Tokyo.
Women's Soccer
Jayde Riviere (Canada)
Soccer • Defender
First Olympic Appearance • U-M Rising Junior, letterwinner (2019-20)
Riviere will make her first Olympic appearance after being a member of the Canadian National Team for the 2019 World Cup in France. She also competed for Canada in the SheBelieves Cup earlier this year and helped Canada to an extra-time win over Argentina. Riviere has started 21 of the 24 matches in which she has appeared at Michigan, with one goal and one assist as a defender.
Shelina Zadorsky (Canada)
Soccer • Defender
Second Olympic Appearance • U-M letterwinner (2010-13)
Zadorsky has 66 caps for Canada and won a bronze medal with her country at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. She is currently on loan from the Orlando Pride to Tottenham Hotspur. Zadorsky made 39 appearances for the Pride since joining them in 2018, and she previously played for the Washington Spirit, where she was named the Newcomer of the Year in 2016 and captain in the 2017 season.
Softball
Amanda Chidester (USA)
Softball • Catcher
First Olympic Appearance • U-M letterwinner (2009-12)
Chidester, an Allen Park, Mich., native, was a two-time Big Ten Player of the Year and All-American at Michigan and earned the Big Ten Medal of Honor in 2012. She was an ultimate utility player, seeing significant playing time as a catcher, first baseman, second baseman, third baseman and outfielder, and finished her career ranked second in school history in runs batter in (200), second in grand slams (5), fourth in slugging percentage (.596), fifth in home runs (40), ninth in hits (248) and 10th in runs scored (157). She has been with the USA Softball Women's National Team since 2012 -- except for 2019, when she was the NPF Player of the Year, NPF Offensive Player of the Year and Home Run Award winner -- and has won a gold medal and two silvers at the WBSC Women's World Championship.
Men's Swimming
Mokhtar Al-Yamani (Yemen)
Swimming • Freestyle Sprints
First Olympic Appearance • U-M letterwinner (2016-19)
Al-Yamani, a 2019 alumnus, earned a spot swimming for Yemen in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and will swim the 50-, 100- and 200-meter freestyle events after narrowly missing out on the opportunity to swim in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Al-Yamani is coming off a dominant win at the 2021 Eric Namesnik Memorial Open, where he won by more than a second in the 200 free (1:51.90). In his time as a Wolverine, Al-Yamani was a Big Ten champion (2016: 800-yard freestyle relay) and three-time CSCAA All-America honorable mention.
Felix Auböck (Austria)
Swimming • Freestyle Distance
Second Olympic Appearance • U-M letterwinner (2017-20)
After representing Austria in the 2016 Rio Olympics, Auböck returns to action in the 400-, 800- and 1,500-meter freestyle events in Tokyo. In between his Olympics, the 2020 graduate had a highly decorated career in Ann Arbor, winning two Big Ten Swimmer of the Year awards (2017, 2020), an NCAA title (2019: 1,650-yard freestyle), and being named the University of Michigan Male Athlete of the Year (2020).
Patrick Callan (United States)
Swimming • 4x200m Freestyle Relay
First Olympic Appearance • U-M Rising Senior, letterwinner (2019-21)
Callan earned a spot on the 4x200 freestyle relay by finishing sixth in the 200-meter freestyle at the U.S. Trials, shaving more than a half-second off his semifinal time in the final. The rising senior was a three-time CSCAA All-America honorable mention in 2021 in the 200-yard freestyle, 500-yard freestyle and 800-yard freestyle relay, as well as a member of the Big Ten champion 800-yard freestyle relay team.
Jake Mitchell (United States)
Swimming • 400-meter Freestyle
First Olympic Appearance • U-M Rising Sophomore, letterwinner (2021)
Mitchell qualified for Team USA by finishing second in the 400-meter freestyle and then achieving the Olympic standard in an electric solo race the next day, swimming his career-best time of 3:45.86. The Carmel, Ind., native was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2020-21 after winning the 500-yard freestyle, finishing second in the 1,650-yard freestyle, and taking fourth in the 200-yard freestyle at the Big Ten Championships. He also earned a CSCAA All-America honorable mention nod in the 800-yard freestyle relay.
Women's Swimming
Catie DeLoof (United States)
Swimming • 4x100m Freestyle Relay
First Olympic Appearance • U-M letterwinner (2016-19)
The lone Wolverine swimmer representing Team USA on the women's side in Tokyo, DeLoof qualified for the 100-meter freestyle relay team thanks to a fifth-place finish in the event with a time of 53.87 at the Olympic Trials. In her time with the Maize and Blue, DeLoof was a nine-time CSCAA All-American, five-time CSCAA All-America honorable mention, and a five-time Big Ten champion.
Siobhán Haughey (Hong Kong)
Swimming • Freestyle Sprints, Relays
Second Olympic Appearance • U-M letterwinner (2016-19)
Haughey has a chance to cement herself as the best swimmer in Hong Kong history after putting together a highly decorated career at Michigan. The 2019 alumna took fourth in the 200 freestyle at the 2019 World Championships. She will also compete in the 100 freestyle and 4x100 freestyle and medley relays. While at Michigan, Haughey was a 14-time CSCAA All-American, a 15-time Big Ten champion, and the 2016 Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships.
Maggie MacNeil (Canada)
Swimming • 100m Butterfly, Relays
First Olympic Appearance • U-M Rising Senior, letterwinner (2019-21)
One of the most prolific swimmers in all the NCAA, MacNeil looks to continue her success in 2021 in Tokyo. The London, Ontario, native, who was Canada's Breakout Swimmer of the Year in 2019 after winning a World Championships gold medal in the 100-meter butterfly, won two NCAA championships this spring (100-yard freestyle, 100-yard butterfly). She is the 2021 CSCAA Women's Swimmer of the Year, a 12-time CSCAA All-American, 14-time Big Ten champion, a two-time Big Ten Swimmer of the Year (2020, 2021), and two-time Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships (2020, 2021).
Mariella Venter (South Africa)
Swimming • 4x100m Medley Relay
First Olympic Appearance • U-M Rising Junior, letterwinner (2020-21)
Venter won four gold medals at the 2018 South African National Aquatic Championships and went on to compete in the FINA World Championships. As a Wolverine, the rising junior has earned CSCAA All-America honors and been a two-time CSCAA All-America honorable mention recipient.
Jamie Yeung (Hong Kong)
Swimming • 4x100m Medley Relay
First Olympic Appearance • U-M letterwinner (2016-19)
Yeung, a 2019 graduate, is competing in Tokyo as a member of the Hong Kong 4x100 medley relay team. While at U-M, Yeung was an All-America honorable mention in the 100-yard breaststroke, finishing 10th at the NCAA Championships. She also earned CSCAA Scholar All-America honorable mention as a junior and was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
Men's Track and Field
Steven Bastien (United States)
Track and Field • Decathlon
First Olympic Appearance • U-M letterwinner (2015-17)
Bastien will be just the third Michigan decathlete to compete at the Olympics, and the first since Eeles Landstrom in 1952. A graduate of nearby Saline High School, Bastien had the performance of a lifetime in the U.S. Olympic Trials in June as he added an astounding 462 points to his career-best score to both achieve the Olympic qualifying standard and finish with the silver medal at 8,485 points. While at Michigan, Bastien was a two-time Big Ten champion and five-time All-American. His father, Gary, qualified for the 1984 Olympic Trials in the decathlon.
Mason Ferlic (United States)
Track and Field • 3,000-meter Steeplechase
First Olympic Appearance • U-M letterwinner (2013-16)
Five years removed from his national title in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in 2016, Ferlic took the next great step forward in his career at the same location as he qualified for Team USA with a bronze medal in the event. With a pair of sub-8:20 performances to his name this year, he has put together the strongest year of his career. He follows in the Maize and Blue footsteps of three-time Olympian and 1984 bronze medalist Brian Diemer, who was the last Michigan man to qualify in the event and was also coached by Ferlic's current coach, former Michigan head coach Ron Warhurst.
Nick Willis (New Zealand)
Track and Field • 1,500-meter Run
Fifth Olympic Appearance • U-M letterwinner (2003-05)
Among the most decorated middle-distance athletes in Michigan history, Willis returns to the Olympic stage for the fifth time as one of the oldest 1,500-meter competitors in the history of the Games. He captured the silver medal in the 1,500-meter run at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He finished third in the race but was elevated to the silver medal after winner Rashid Ramzi tested positive for a banned substance. Eight years later in Rio, Willis became the oldest 1,500-meter Olympic medalist as he claimed the bronze in a wild sprint to the finish. After redshirting his 2004 outdoor season at Michigan, Willis was a semifinalist in the 1,500m at the Athens Games. He served as New Zealand's team captain and flag bearer for his nation during the 2012 Games in London.
Women's Track and Field
Tiffany (Ofili) Porter (Great Britain)
Track and Field • 100-meter Hurdles
Third Olympic Appearance • U-M letterwinner (2006-09)
Porter will join rower Ellen Tomek in becoming the first women in Michigan Athletics history to compete in three Olympic Games, after having also represented Great Britain in her signature 100-meter hurdles event in London in 2012 and Rio in 2016. A four-time global medalist and five-time NCAA champion, Porter will compete in Tokyo after winning the British Athletics title, and it will be her first Olympics as a mother, after she and two-time Olympian husband Jeff Porter welcomed daughter Chidera to the world in 2019. Just as she was in 2016, she will be joined in Tokyo by sister Cindy (Ofili) Sember.
Cindy (Ofili) Sember (Great Britain)
Track and Field • 100-meter Hurdles
Second Olympic Appearance • U-M letterwinner (2013-16)
A tri-citizen of Great Britain, Nigeria and the United States since birth, Sember will return to the Olympic stage for Great Britain after just missing the medal podium at the 2016 Rio Games by one spot and fractions of a second in her signature 100-meter hurdles event. The road to Tokyo has been bumpy at times for the former NCAA and five-time Big Ten champion after suffering a devastating achilles injury in 2017, but she is among the fastest women in the world in 2021 and will once more challenge for Olympic glory alongside sister Tiffany (Ofili) Porter.
Triathlon
Val Barthelemy (Belgium)
Triathlon • Women's Individual, Mixed Relay
First Olympic Appearance • U-M swimming and diving letterwinner (2010-13)
The former Wolverine swimmer and 2013 alumna has transitioned from the pool to the grueling sport of triathlon since her graduation. After earning a bachelor's degree in naval architecture and a master's degree in marine engineering from U-M, Barthelemy had her first triathlon race in 2015 and has been training for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics ever since. Barthelemy left her job as a part-time engineer in 2017 and relocated to Belgium to pursue her Olympic dream.
Water Polo
Abby Andrews (Australia)
Water Polo
First Olympic Appearance • U-M letterwinner (2019)
After a record-setting freshman season with Michigan in 2019, Andrews returned to her native Australia to train for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Andrews competed for the Stingers (Australian National Team) in the International Series with the United States in January and scored two goals. While at Michigan, the Indooroopilly native set the single-season school record for assists per game (2.22) and points per game (4.0) while also setting new freshman records for assists (71) and points (128). She was the 2019 CWPA Rookie of the Year and earned All-America honorable mention.
Amy Ridge (Australia)
Water Polo
First Olympic Appearance • U-M letterwinner (2016)
A 2016 letterwinner at Michigan, Ridge has been a member of the Aussie Stingers since 2017. The center back has 81 international caps and helped the Stingers earn a bronze medal at the 2019 World Championship. Ridge played a vital role in the 2016 U-M team that finished fourth in the NCAA Tournament, the highest placing in program history, as she played in all 38 games with 20 goals and 10 assists.
Wrestling
Myles Amine (San Marino)
Wrestling • 86kg
First Olympic Appearance • U-M graduate student, letterwinner (2017-19, '21)
After qualifying for his first Olympic team at the 2019 World Championships, Amine opted to redshirt the 2019-20 NCAA season before returning to compete this past season. He became just the seventh four-time All-American in Michigan wrestling history with his third-place NCAA finish at 197 pounds in 2021 -- after placing top-four at 174 pounds in each of his previous three appearances -- and captured his first Big Ten title. A dual citizen on his mother's side, he is the first wrestler from San Marino to qualify for the Olympic Games.
Stevan Micic (Serbia)
Wrestling • 57kg
First Olympic Appearance • U-M graduate student, letterwinner (2017-19)
A 2018 NCAA finalist, Micic is a three-time NCAA All-American and a Big Ten champion at 133 pounds for Michigan but down to compete at 57kg (125 pounds) internationally. Micic redshirted in 2019-20 after placing fifth at the 2019 World Championships to qualify for his first Olympic Games and, after adding medals in each of the three UWW Ranking Series events, he will be the No. 1 seed at 57kg in Tokyo. A Serbian citizen on his father's side, he is the country's first freestyle wrestler to qualify for the Olympics.
Paratriathlon
Andy Potts (United States)
Paratriathlon • Guide for Kyle Coon
First Paralympics Appearance • U-M swimming and diving letterwinner (1996-99)
Representing the Maize and Blue in Tokyo in one of the more unique ways is former U-M swimmer Andy Potts, who will serve as the guide for blind paratriathlete Kyle Coon. Potts will accompany Coon for a 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike ride, and 5-kilometer run. The two will be tethered together for the swim and run and will cycle on a tandem bike. It will be the first time that a U.S. Olympian (Athens 2004, triathlon) has competed in both the Olympics and Paralympics for USA Triathlon.
Men's Para Track and Field
Sam Grewe (United States)
Para Track and Field • T42/F42 High Jump
Second Paralympics Appearance • U-M first-year medical school student (2021)
A first-year medical school student at the University of Michigan, Grewe will compete in the T42 classification high jump at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. Diagnosed with osteosarcoma -- bone cancer -- in his right leg as a seventh-grader in 2012, he made the challenging decision to have the leg amputated. His ankle and foot were rotated and reconnected in reverse to his femur in a procedure known as rotationplasty, creating a strong joint for use with a prosthetic. He went on to claim the silver medal in the high jump T42 for the United States at the Rio Olympics, and he has won three consecutive World Championships gold medals and a ParaPan American Games title. He competed for Notre Dame in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
